The evacuation beginning 7 February was part of a UN-supervised humanitarian operation that also saw the delivery of some food supplies into the neighbourhoods, where people have been surviving on herbs for months.

By Bassem Mroue / AP BEIRUT: Syrian troops clashed with army defectors in an eastern city Thursday, leaving at least one person dead, while government forces bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods of the central city of Homs, activists said. The renewed violence comes as the international community struggles to salvage a week-old cease-fire that is seen as …

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By Karin Laub / AP BEIRUT: Nearly a week after a cease-fire took effect, Syrian troops pounded a rebel stronghold Wednesday as the country’s foreign minister met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing during the latest round of talks aimed at preventing the truce from unraveling. Despite the persistent violence in Homs and other cities, …

By Karin Laub / AP BEIRUT: The Syrian regime widened shelling attacks on opposition strongholds Tuesday, activists said, targeting a second town in a new sign that a UN-brokered cease-fire is quickly unraveling despite the presence of foreign observers. The truce is part of an international plan to launch talks between President Bashar Assad’s regime …

By Zeina Karam / AP BEIRUT: Loud explosions reverberated across the central Syrian city of Homs and clashes were reported in several areas across the country Wednesday, just hours after the government said it has started to withdraw troops from some cities in compliance with an international cease-fire plan. Activists said a 50-year-old man and his …

By AFP DAMASCUS: Elite troops backed by tanks massed round the Syrian protest city of Homs on Wednesday as Washington worked on a UN Security Council draft resolution demanding humanitarian access to trapped civilians. China said it backed sending international aid as diplomats said the new text being drawn up by Washington focused on getting …

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis / Reuters AMMAN: Syrian artillery pummeled rebel-held areas of Homs on Monday before an expected government announcement that a vote – decried as a sham by the opposition and the West – has approved a new constitution proposed by President Bashar Al-Assad. Shells and rockets crashed into Sunni Muslim districts of Homs …